


Well Darling I'm Telling You Now

by agentcarter



Category: Agent Carter - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Cartinelli - Freeform, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-25
Updated: 2015-04-15
Packaged: 2018-03-19 14:31:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3613476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentcarter/pseuds/agentcarter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peggy never planned on going to the L & L Automat, but once she met a lively Italian waitress by the name of Angie Martinelli, she could never stop.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Come Rain or Come Shine

**Author's Note:**

> Peggy, sick of the daily office grind, plans to spend a night on the town. But instead, ends up at an automat with a lively Italian waitress...

A single sigh left Peggy’s lips as she kicked the heels off her feet and placed them into her closet. Another dreary day had once again come to a close with not much to account for it. She brought the boys at the office their coffees, filed the papers that were too lazy to deal with, and generally was treated as nothing more than a menial secretary. 

Peggy’s could feel her blood pressure start to rise just thinking about those meatheads. After all of the work she had done in the war, after the sacrifices she made…… She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. At the very least, she thought she deserved some respect. Her job at the SSR was all she really had since returning to the States. She had hoped that if she showed how dedicated she was to the office, Chief Dooley may give her at least some sort of  assignment. Well, anything other than taking the lunch orders that is. So far, such luck had yet to be found. Instead, she worked relentlessly, running circles around the men in the office, with no praise or recognition.

On any normal night, she could hardly make it back to her apartment and get undressed before falling asleep; the idea of going out was always the last thing on her mind. But tonight was different. It has been a particularly brutal day with the boys and so, despite the overwhelming sense of exhaustion sweeping over her body, she changed her clothes. freshened up her lipstick and headed out.

\----------

So maybe this wasn’t exactly what she had in mind… While Peggy’s intentions to spend a night out on the town were pure, the universe had other plans. Plans that involved a torrential downpour. As soon as the sky opened up, the agent made an attempt to escape the rain and quickly ducked inside an automat she recognized from her daily walk to work. There goes the perfect curls and makeup she had done for the night. Peggy took off her now-soaked jacket and took a seat in one of the faded aqua booths near the back. The restaurant was nearly empty; the only other souls were a middle aged gentleman and the waitress. The man was not much to talk about but the girl. Now that was a different story.

\----------

“Excuse me, miss, but are you ready to order??” 

Her head whipped up as the petite brunette tapped her pencil on the table, trying to get Peggy’s attention, who’s mind was, quite clearly, elsewhere. Peggy cleared her throat and fumbled through her standard order.  “Oh yes, hello. Sorry about that, I’ll just take a cup of tea, thank you.” From the moment Peggy had opened her mouth, the young Italian waitress’s eyes had light up. “Well would you look at that! Your’e not from around here now are you? If I had to guess, your from somewheres over in England right??” The waitress was obviously intrigued so Peggy explained, “Yes, from London actually. I just moved to the city quite recently.” 

That is all the waitress needed to get going. She slide into the seat opposite Peggy, tossing her pencil and paper to the side. “Oh so your’e new in town?? Let me tell you, it is not as easy as they make it seem to live out here. I’ve been auditioning for shows every moment I’m not slaving away here and I’ve yet to get a gig. I mean this is great and all but I want to be on stage, not serving jerks like him coffee all night. I’m Angie, by the way. Angie Martinelli. What’s your name, English?” A smile crept across Peggy’s face as she heard the nickname, but swiftly composed her self and stated, “Peggy Carter. And not to worry, I don’t have the talent to even attempt the theater so you’ve got no new competition. But I do understand your pain when it comes to dealing with the men in this town.” 

A short laugh left Angie’s lips, “It doesn't matter when you got legs like yours, trust me. If I looked like you, I would have landed a role a long time ago. But it’s ok! I’ve just got to pay my dues, I’ll make it there someday.” The blood rushed to Peggy’s cheeks at the comment and Angie didn’t miss a beat. “Oh hey, listen English I didn’t mean to embarrass you! But it is the truth, though.” 

The smile on Peggy’s face grew as she looked at the glowing girl across from her. She somehow managed out a thank you before looking down at her fidgeting hands. It was so unlike her to get like this. She was almost, god she was actually almost nervous. Peggy had been so used to the crude comments and wandering hands of the men in the war, but she’s always managed to keep them in line. One or two punches to the jaw usually did the trick at warding them off. But she hadn’t received a genuine and pure compliment, one with no crass inflections, in so long she had forgotten had nice it was. 

Angie slid out of the booth when the other gentleman in the automat yelled out something about needing a refill, but as she did, she turned back to Peggy. “It was nice talking to ya Peggy, hope to see you again sometime!”

Peggy looked back at the waitress and simply shook her head. She already had plans to get breakfast there in the morning. 


	2. Sunday, Monday, or Always

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peggy and Angie bond more and more as Peggy makes her visits to the automat a daily outing. Things start to move forward, though, when Angie has a proposition for the agent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the 2nd chapter of the fic I accidentally deleted before. Please give me as much feedback or suggestions as possible so I can improve my writing and this fic. Thanks yall!!

“I’m telling you English, he really is a stand up guy. I mean, sure he’s been to jail one or two times but it was just a misunderstanding, honest.” Angie was, once again, giving Peggy an elaborate story regarding of one of her family members and Peggy was desperately trying not to poke fun. Angie’s family, like Angie herself, was just eccentric, that’s all. Not criminals. Either way, the stories were wild and watching Angie’s face light up when she told them was enough reason to keep listening, day after day.

Peggy had become quite the regular since her first time at the L & L Automat about a month ago. It was on her way to the office, so it never really hurt to just pop in, get a cup of tea, and have a chat with Angie. The two truly had bonding quite quickly over the course of the past few weeks. Peggy found comfort in finally having someone in the city she could really talk to, besides her roommate Colleen, that is. While she was sweet, there was not much for them to talk about and they each worked long hours, leaving little room to become true friends. But Angie was different. You didn’t have much of a choice but to become close to her. Her fast-talking and wide eyes drew you in, but her genuine heart kept you there. 

Unfortunately, some other things about her would tend to draw the men she waited on in, as well… It killed Peggy to see her harassed like that, day after day. It obviously bothered Angie too, but she kept quite for fear of losing her job. Without it, she couldn't pursue her real dreams. o being on stage. So instead of allowing Angie to put it all on the line, Peggy decided to do it for her. Every now and then, when there was a particular customer who was getting a little too friendly or putting their hands where they shouldn’t, Peggy would step in and… well, let’s just say she would resolve the problem. A few stern words in a scaringly sweet voice, a fork to the brachial artery, a threat or two thrown in and would you look at that? They were suddenly perfect angels. It was the least the agent could do considering how much Angie had done for her. 

Angie knew very little about Peggy, which was in no way by choice. Peggy chose to keep her job at the SSR a secret, saying instead she worked at the New York Bell Company. She kept her whole life to herself for fear of letting her job bring the ones she cared about in harms way. The war, her work at the SSR, everything with Steve. All of it. Keeping whole portions of her life locked away was never easy, but neither was losing someone she loved, and so she rallied on. Besides, she didn’t have to say too much to keep the conversation rolling with Angie. She would much rather hear about her auditions-gone-wrong and quirky anecdotes than talk of her own troubles. 

——————————

Things continued on as usual between the two women and for once, the consistency came as a pleasant surprise for Peggy. Her life had been so crazy the past few years and always being able to rely on Angie’s smiling face was comforting. But today something was different. For once, Angie was actually _quiet._ Peggy dismissed it, though, assuming she was just having a rough day; maybe another audition gone sour or something of the sort. But then, when Angie brought out her usual order, something odd happened. “Morning Peggy, how you doing this morning?” To most, it would seem like nothing was wrong. But Angie _never_ called her Peggy. Actually she never called her anything but English. Peggy slowly turned her head up to the girl, “Alright that’s it. You’ve been acting strange all morning. Sit down, what’s going on with you, Angie?”

A look of frustration washed over the waitress’s face as she sat down opposite Peggy in the booth. “Nothing’s wrong, it’s just a little embarrassing I guess.” The corners of Peggy’s mouth turned up ever so slightly. She couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the always confident Ms. Martinelli being nervous. “Go on, you know I won’t make fun.” “Well, I go to my parents place every Sunday for dinner. One of those big style Italian dinners ya know? I guess I started talking a lot about you recently because my Ma hasn’t stopped asking about you lately. She told me to invite you to dinner this weekend and I totally understand if you don’t want to go but I had to at least tell you because my Ma will know if I’m lying about extending the invitation. You’ve heard my stories about family and I completely don’t blame you if you don’t want to come.” 

Angie’s eyes were staring at her hands as they nervously fidgeted in anticipation of Peggy’s answer. Before Peggy could say a word, Angie bolted up and said “Forget it. I know you don’t want to come and I know we aren’t _that_ close so I’ll just make it easier for you. You need more tea???” Angie started to dash off to the kitchen but before she could, Peggy grabbed her wrist. Angie turned her head, looking back at the brunette who was gripping her hand, rather tightly she might add. “Of course I want to come Angie. It would be my pleasure. With everything you’ve told me about them, I am sure it will make for a wonderful night. What time should I be there?” 

And that was all it took for the light in Angie’s eyes to come back. She squealed and quickly popped back down next to Peggy. “Fantastic!!! Okay so how about I just meet you at your place and we can go together? It’ll be easier that way, plus I get to see where you live which’ll be neat too! My family’s gonna love you English, I’m sure of it!!” Just like that, Angie was off again, telling stories from the previous week’s dinner and how her younger cousin accidentally spilled his food into her lap, nearly ruining her dress, and so on and so on. Peggy just stared at the girl, who was so amused by the world, in awe. Angie wasn’t just a casual acquaintance anymore. She was her first real friend in a long time. Sunday couldn’t come fast enough. 


	3. Some Enchanted Evening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peggy and Angie head off to the Martinelli house for an Italian Sunday diner, leaving Peggy nervous as can be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry in advance for the one line in Italian in here. I used google translate and it is probably wrong lol. Thanks for reading and pretty please send me any suggestions or criticism you have(:

Peggy sat in front of her boudoir, checking her lipstick one last time as she waited for the knock on her door. Sunday had finally come around and Peggy was, for the first time in a long time, nervous. Her outfit for the afternoon had been hanging on the back of her closet door for days and she had checked her makeup going on three times while waiting for Angie to come pick her up.

As she sat in front of the mirror, her eyes fell to the picture of Steve she had snatched from his file. Her heart ached for a moment, wishing that the sweet boy from Brooklyn could be with her now, to calm her down like he always used to. The thought of her long gone lover was pushed to the back of her mind as a quick knock echoed through the apartment, followed by “You ready to go, English?!” Peggy stood up, straightened her skirt, and glided toward the door, opening it to find a bubbly Angie Martinelli. Before she could even ask her in, Angie had bounded across the threshold and begun snooping around the British woman’s place.

“I’ve gotta say, English, I was hoping to get a little bit of dirt on you after seeing your apartment, but it looks like I’m out of luck.” Peggy rolled her eyes at another one of Angie’s desperate attempts to pry into her personal life. 

“I’ve got a roommate, Colleen, so I can’t leave all of my skeletons lying around. Sorry to disappoint.” 

With a shrug of her shoulders, Angie plopped down on the freshly made bed and took in her surroundings. The two women sat in silence for a moment until a quiet noise left Angie’s lips. 

“Wow English, I was so excited to see your place that I didn’t even notice at first. You look absolutely fantastic! Look at you, getting all cleaned up to meet my silly little family.” 

Peggy could feel the blood rushing beneath her skin at the compliment. 

“It’s not too much I hope? I just wanted to make a good impression. I can always just change if you think it’s…”

Angie scoffed, “Are you kidding?? They’re gonna love it. Ma’s always getting on me to dress nicer, but when you work 12 hour shifts and live on tips it’s too hard to pull off. Trust me, they’ll love you. I don’t bring friends to these things often ‘cause my family can get to be a little much. I think you can hold your ground, though. You ready to get going then? Ma hates it when I'm late.” 

And with that, the women were off.

——————————

Angie was _not_ kidding when she said her family could be a handful. From the moment the two women arrived, it was pure chaos. Children were squealing and running through the hallways, groups of men stood scattered throughout the house with drinks in hand; the whole was filled with laughter and lots and lots of _people_. Peggy, who was still rather jittery about the proceedings of the night, wrapped her fingers are Angie’s arm just above her elbow, drew her close, and whispered, 

“I thought you said it was you ‘silly _little_ family’, Angie!! There’s got to be at least 30 people here!” 

Angie looked back with a puzzled expression. “What are ya talking about English?? This isn’t even my whole family! I guess I should’ve warned you how big Italian family’s can be…” 

Before Peggy could retort, a woman who could be none other than Mrs. Martinelli came barreling towards them, Italian words flowing from her lips at an alarming speed. Then suddenly, Angie cut her off and joined into the mix of commotion in the house.

“Ma, te l'ho detto, Peggy non parla Italiano, hai avuto modo di tenerlo in inglese stasera capito?” 

Peggy’s jaw nearly dropped at the sound of Angie’s voice uttering the foreign language and the ease at which she appeared to do so. There was no time to comment, however, for Mrs. Martinelli was already taking Peggy in a tight embrace, kissing both her cheeks before welcoming her to her home, in quite clear English, Peggy thought to herself. 

Soon after, the rest of the Martinelli family came and gathered around to meet the honored guest of the night. The evening continued on with red wine flowing and enough food to feed an army, and Peggy would know. For the first time since the end of the war, in a house full of loud Italians and with Angie by her side, Peggy felt safe. 

——————————

The two women stumbled down the hallway back towards Peggy’s apartment after a long night of light-hearted fun at the Martinelli house. They had both had a little too much wine, but neither one of them really cared at this point. 

“Wow, Peg, I’m so glad I asked you to come! I haven’t had that good a time at a family dinner in god knows how long!”

“I’m so glad you think it went well. I mean, I knew I had a good time, but do you think your’e family liked me?” It was uncharacteristic for Peggy to be so worried about other people's opinions but she didn't want to ruin another friendship, especially one that meant so much to her. 

“Liked you?? That’s an understatement! Although I do think my brothers are going to be a little bit bitter about you beating them in that one-armed push up competition you guys had going. No one’s ever beaten them before. When you got to 107, they just about died! So did I, really. Who knew sweet, innocent Peggy was so tough," Angie said through a smirk. 

“Now I’m not sure how sweet I am. I’m just happy it all worked out.” 

Peggy fumbled with her keys and eventually, after much more effort than usual, clumsily walked into the apartment. Angie turned to head back down the hallway, but before she could get very far, Peggy called after her. “And where do you think your’e going??”

Angie looked back, with her eyes squinted and her head cocked sideways in utter confusion. “I’m going back home, where do you think I was headed, Mars?”

“There’s no way in hell I’m letting you walk back to your place alone and in your state. Come inside, you can stay here. Colleen is staying with a friend so we’ve got the place to ourselves.”

Before she could protest, Peggy intertwined her fingers around the waitress's and dragged her inside.  Angie didn’t even try to put up a fight. She knew once Peggy had made up her mind, there was no way she was going to change it. Instead, she headed back to the bed where she had sat earlier that night, kicked off her shoes, and relaxed. 

“Now tell me, Angie, since when do you speak Italian???”

Angie let out a laugh that filled up the room and sent a smile Peggy's way. “There’s a lot more than just that you don’t know about me, English.” 

“Well I guess we’ve got a lot to talk about then?” Peggy joked as she pulled out night gowns for the both of them. And they did just that until they both fell sleep on Peggy’s bed, both with their makeup still on and grins on their faces. 


	4. I'll Be Seeing You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following a wild night of drinking, Peggy and Angie wake up the following morning in what appears to be a compromising situation. Peggy starts her life as a double agent and quickly learns that it may not be all fun and games.

Peggy rolled over in her single bed and instinctively wrapped her arm around the body next to her. It took her almost a little too long to realize that the waist that her arm had crept around belonged to her best friend, not that of a lover. She quickly tried to slide her arm away from the young woman without waking her, but it was too late. Just as her hand was almost free, the waitress began to stir, turning her head to face Peggy. Her hair had fallen from the curls of the previous night, yet even with her lipstick smudged and a sleepy glaze over her eyes, Peggy still was taken back by how gorgeous the girl was. 

“Morning English,” she said through a yawn. It wasn’t until she went to stretch her arms that she even noticed the agent’s arm resting on her hip. Her lips twisted into a smirk and her words were dripping in mockery as she teased the girl lying next to her in bed. “Ohhh look at you getting all handsy this morning!

Peggy instantly moved her hands as far away from Angie as she could and attempted to not look as flustered or, quite frankly, embarrassed as she actually was. “Sorry about that Angie. It’s a rather cramped bed with two people in it and I didn’t even realize I had done it until I woke up. I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable or anything of the sort. I’m truly sorry and-”

“Shut up, English, you talk too much!” Angie jabbed her fingers playfully at Peggy’s side, “Don’t you know me well enough by now to know I don’t take offense to much? 

Peggy knew that Angie would think nothing of the unintentional contact between the two of them; it was honestly an innocent occurrence and she meant nothing of it. But if that was the case, then why did Peggy feel so on edge and nervous and giddy about their current situation? 

Suddenly, Peggy’s heartbeat began to quicken and an all too familiar feeling swept over her. Thoughts like these hadn’t even crossed her mind since the early days of the war before she met Steve. She hadn’t acted on those feelings in nearly just as long. Peggy’s eyes flitted to meet Angie’s and for a brief moment, she thought that maybe… No, she couldn’t. She couldn’t risk everything just to be with a girl she might like, no matter how precious she looked when she was half asleep. 

 

“You in there, Pegs?? Hello?!” Angie snapped her fingers in front of Peggy’s face in an attempt to  bring the brunette back to reality. 

 

“Oh yes, sorry! I just got a little lost in my own thoughts. I do know I’m starving, though. Shall we get some breakfast, then?”

 

“As long as your’e cooking, English. I serve you breakfast every other day of the week, I say today, it’s your turn.”

 

“There’s a reason I eat there everyday, Angie, and it is not because I am gifted in the art of cooking. But if you insist, I can serve you up a mean order of burnt toast and undercooked eggs.”

 

The waitress threw her head back as an airy and heartfelt laugh left her lips. Peggy took that as a yes. 

——————————

_Well, that was an unexpected turn of events_ , Peggy thought at breakfast the morning after a very strange night. After all of those months with Howard making no attempt to contact her and now he wants her to become a double agent? While the entire concept was quite honestly infuriating, how could she deny the challenge? Especially when her treatment at the office had only been in a steady decline. She had been demoted to simply taking lunch orders and filing papers that the buffoons she worked with were too incompetent or lazy to do it themselves. Despite the potential risk involved with working for Howard in clearing his name, at least she would be able to do what she believed in above all else: uphold justice. Peggy’s heart raced a little at the simple idea of being back on a mission and so, with a smile on her face and determination in her eyes, she headed into the SSR office for the first time since the war with a true sense of purpose. 

——————————

Peggy had tried to hold back her tears, but it was no use. If there was ever a time to cry, now was her chance. The agent sat on the bed and let the tears flow in heavy streams down her face and onto the bare arms of her now deceased roommate. Colleen didn’t deserve this; she didn’t deserve being murdered by men when she was as innocent as a lamb. A thousand scenarios raced through Peggy’s head, all of which Colleen was granted a different reality: what if she hadn’t gotten sick, what if her boss hadn’t sent her home early, and so and on and so on. _None of them matter_. Peggy knows the only reason this horrible night happened in the first place was because of her. Once again, Peggy had lost someone she cared about because of her own job. _Only this time it wasn’t her job, it was Howard’s._ But no matter who’s fault it was, it didn’t change the harsh truth. Colleen was dead. And that only made Peggy’s heart break into a thousand pieces, just like every time before. She brushed a piece of blonde hair away from the young girls face, closed her eyes, and draped her body over the girls and wept until her eyes ran dry. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is always appreciated!! Sorry I haven't updated in a while and that this is eh. Didn't really want to write this chapter but I had to if we want Angie and Peggy to end up in the Griffith together!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time ever writing a fic so feedback is greatly appreciated! I plan to keep uploading chapters if people seem to like it. I want to delve into their whole relationship from a different point of view than the show so yeah here ya go!
> 
> (PS I'm an actual idiot and accidentally deleted this and had to post it again so sorry about that please still read it)


End file.
